Hallmark Hits Snag in 'Solution' to Same-Sex Marriage Cards' Dispute

The Idaho Values Alliance has urged the owner of seven Hallmark stores not to carry a set of four greeting cards created to celebrate same-sex marriage. By Hallmark's acknowledging gay marriage, the company "is doing what 48 states and the federal government have refused to do, and that is to recognize homosexual marriage," Bryan Fischer, IVA's executive director, said in a statement.

Three of the cards feature gender-neutral illustrations, with either hearts or flowers. A fourth shows the torsos of two men in tuxedos holding hands.

The IVA specifically asked Philip Jordan, owner of seven Hallmark stores in Nampa, Idaho, not to carry the cards. An associate manager at one of the stores told PrideDepot.com, an LGBT news website based in Idaho, that his store was not planning on selling the cards as part of its inventory, though interested customers could purchase the cards upon request.

However, when The Advocate attempted to order the cards through Jordan's Hallmark in the Karcher Mall on Thursday, an employee was unable to do so and suggested the best solution was to contact corporate headquarters in Kansas City.

Hallmark spokesperson Sarah Kolell says the company does not have policies that would mandate independent Hallmark retailers to sell all available cards.

"We really feel like they know their markets, they know their consumers, and they know what would best sell in their stores," she said.

Sixty-three percent of Idaho residents voted to ban same-sex marriage in a 2006 referendum. (Michelle Garcia, The Advocate)

Reader Comments

These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

Name: Master David Goodmen
Date posted: 2008-09-15 3:20 PM
Hometown: Petaluma, CA

Comment:

@Brian, 2008-09-15 2:05 PM, I am pleased you advocate, by analogy, taking the Christian cards out of the Hallmark stores. I realize you are spread thinly, coming from the entire state as you do, but I believe the right-wingers in Nampa and Caldwell would have would have fits! @Brian, 2008-09-15 2:06 PM, "using the law to obtain by force what cannot be obtained by persuasion is a risky business." Yes, it is. This is the reason for The Draft, for the Federal-Income Tax, and a number of other activities. Now, if you mean using the law to explicitly enforce The Constitution's "all men are created equal" clause, then there is nothing risky there. Being Americans, we DO treat everyone with respect and Constitutionality, do we not? Right wingers do NOT behave Constitutionally! They are always trashing someone else's rights without correspondingly trashing their own rights. This behavior fails the "equal protection" requirement.

Name: Master David Goodmen
Date posted: 2008-09-15 2:56 PM
Hometown: Petaluma, CA

Comment:

In Caldwell there is a very large (thirty-six by fifteen feet) sign which has a different right-wing statement on it each day, such as a corruption of Edmund Berke's famous saying: "All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing." On the sign, "Christians" was substituted for "good men". In spite of right-wingers calling themselves "conservative", I have yet to see even one of them do anything conservative, or anything useful for anyone but themselves. Their values consist of hurting other people, and profiting from those same people. "Small government" applies only to welfare, education, consumer needs, clean environment, and so on. Somehow, "small government" never applies to military expenditures, police, spying, or the amazingly rich. @Chris: "Understanding reality is against my religion!" is the value.

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